I Reincarnated Into a Healing Game… and It’s a Zombie Apocalypse?! - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 81

Nana’s voice pierced through coldly.

Ishanka’s eyes wavered slightly for a moment.

Even that wavering felt disgusting to Nana.

‘Why are you doing this to me when you have another woman? Are you trying to make me your second wife?’

But she didn’t have the courage to voice those words.

She was afraid that if she said it out loud, it would really become true.

And she was afraid she would become too miserable.

“…Go back. If other people see you doing this, they’ll misunderstand.”

Her voice was calm, but her fingertips trembled slightly.

Ishanka asked in a low voice.

“Am I nothing to you?”

The disappointment that crossed his eyes and the strangely intertwined sadness stabbed at Nana’s heart.

She couldn’t breathe.

But in the end, Nana lowered her head.

“I’m grateful that you saved me and let me stay here. But that’s as far as it goes.”

A heavy silence flowed between them.

Unable to bear the silence, Nana quickly turned around and went inside the gate.

She closed the door but couldn’t move her feet for a long time.

After a while, she heard the sound of someone stepping on snow – crunch, crunch – moving away from beyond the door.

Nana let out a long breath, leaned her back against the door, and quietly sat down.

She drew her knees up on the cold floor and buried her head between them.

Her shoulders began to tremble slightly.

Nana held back the tears that were about to come and squeezed her eyes shut.

‘It’s okay. I’m not weak enough to crumble from this much. Whatever I expected, whatever I imagined, it all only existed in my heart.’

Her fingertips quietly curled up on her knees.

‘Let’s stop now. I don’t want to hurt anymore.’

Her heart pounded painfully, but Nana let out a long breath as if to ignore the sound.

Let’s endure just a little more.

Tonight, let’s bury this emotion.

And tomorrow, let’s smile as if nothing happened.

Nana steadied her heart this way and slowly calmed her trembling breath.

In the quiet night, she comforted herself alone in that spot, again and again.

* * *

After that day, Ishanka’s visits completely stopped.

It was expected. After pushing him away so coldly, there was no way he would come back.

‘It’s okay. I just need to return to my daily life.’

Nana comforted herself.

This was just one of the connections that briefly passed by while living life.

If her heart remained caught up in it, the one who would end up hurt would be herself.

She tried to move her body to shake off idle thoughts, but there wasn’t much she could actually do.

Grandma Rosha firmly blocked her from doing housework.

“I never hired a maid.”

She wanted to help since she was indebted to them, but after those words, she couldn’t step forward anymore.

So she thought about tending to the vegetable garden, but it was winter now.

It was the season when both farmers and plants rested.

So it was natural in a way that Nana, who was both a farmowner and farmer, was idle.

In the end, Nana decided to go outside.

If she stayed inside the house, she felt like she would just sit blankly and think bad thoughts.

Nana’s footsteps carefully continued on the snow-covered path.

Crunch, crunch.

The soft friction sound from under her shoes broke the silence and followed her.

Walking slowly while listening to that sound, she found herself arriving at the market spread around the town square.

In Saharte, a big market opens every few days.

Today was a day when particularly many people had gathered.

The market was visibly bustling, and various colors, sounds, and smells poured out all at once.

What caught her eye were silver thread bracelets and carved necklaces put out by a skillful young man. Next to them, carefully embroidered curtains, handkerchiefs, and colorful fabric pieces were neatly displayed.

Under the greasy tents, fur clothes, gloves, and blankets made by women were piled high, and shouts like ‘Look at this!’ and ‘Discount only today!’ went back and forth everywhere.

Nana stopped walking and quietly turned her head to survey the market.

The subtle scent of baking bread tickled her nose, and gorgeously crafted accessories and prettily embroidered curtains caught her eye.

‘It’s been so long since I’ve smelled the scent of people living like this.’

Suddenly, an old wooden cart caught her eye. Small glass bottles were neatly displayed on the cart.

Inside them were vividly colored jams, pickles, and dried herbs, sparkling like jewels in the light.

“These are all handmade! If you buy one bottle, I’ll give you a free sample too!”

A lively shout flowed from between the scarf the merchant wore. Nana instinctively felt around in her pocket.

‘The jam was almost running out anyway… Should I buy one?’

Her eyes caught a bottle that was a slightly different color from the other bottles.

“What’s this?”

“This is pickled flower petals. It’s made from wildflowers that only bloom in the South Sahad Valley. If you age it with sugar and salt for two days, it becomes fragrant and tangy like this.”

The young merchant continued speaking with gestures. As if drawn by his words, Nana picked up a small glass bottle.

The fragrance spreading through the bottle cap was subtle but distinct. A familiar scent that seemed like she had smelled it somewhere before.

Instantly, a forgotten scene came back to life.

A small farm where warm sunlight shone down.

Tree shadows swaying in the wind, wildflowers blooming beneath them.

Days when she touched soil every day, clearing daily quests and main quests.

It was a time when she picked flowers, planted vegetables, watered them, and built up the land and time together.

Sweet Little Village.

A place that was truly filled with sweet fragrance, just like its name.

Days when small, trivial daily life was actually the most peaceful.

‘Those times were really joyful and warm.’

A time when she would smile contentedly alone seeing sprouts growing well in a corner of the vegetable garden, and seriously worry about even one unripe fruit.

It was a time that was more precious because everything was new.

“I’ll take this and one of those apricot jams too.”

The merchant smiled brightly at Nana’s words, nodded, and carefully picked up the bottles, wrapping them in soft paper.

“Good choice! I’ll give you this apple jam as a bonus too.”

The moment she received and held the glass bottles wrapped in a paper bag, their warm weight pressed against her heart. The fragrance and memories contained in one small glass bottle were strangely comforting today.

As she moved deeper into the market, she saw children running around shaking wooden toys.

The children’s laughter spread clearly over the market’s bustling noise, leaving a gentle echo. Nana stared blankly at the scene for a while, then slowly turned her head.

And.

“Oh? It’s Murica Vilona!”

When one child shouted, all the surrounding gazes turned in one direction. The woman stood confidently as if accustomed to receiving attention.

The coat wrapping her body was luxurious from its very silhouette. The gracefully falling lines and the texture of the fine fabric were noticeable even from afar.

A shawl made of rare tiger leather was draped over her shoulders, and beneath it, the hem of a deep purple dress flowed gracefully in the wind.

Jeweled decorations reflecting sunlight sparkled brilliantly, making even the air surrounding her seem special.

Her carefully groomed hair and delicately worn earrings and necklace had a luxury rarely seen in the market.

‘…That woman is Isha’s fiancée.’

Her chest quietly began to ache.

The face that had flashed through the gap in Ishanka’s office door before.

That day, the shock had been too great for her to have the composure to look at her properly, but now was different.

Murakka’s proud stride as she walked over, the people who naturally made way for her, watching it all quietly until their eyes met.

Time seemed to stop for a moment as the two women’s gazes intertwined in the air.

Though the surrounding attention was focused on Murakka, she casually brushed off people’s stares and approached Nana.

Her expression was strange, mixing delight and interest as if she had coincidentally run into a very old acquaintance.

“Oh my, you must be the one who came from that kingdom?”

Murakka smiled politely as she looked Nana up and down.

“I’ve heard so much about you from my Aibanu. That you’re someone who grew up like a hothouse flower, so you’re having trouble adapting to this harsh land.”

‘What?’

“You must have had such a hard time traveling such a long way. There’s quite a difference in standards from the kingdom, so there must be many inconveniences, right?”

‘Is she mocking me right now?’

Nana’s eyebrows twitched. While pretending to be concerned, Murakka was very carefully saying in a roundabout way that she wasn’t good enough for this place and should get lost.

If she had been a delicately raised noble lady from this place, she would have blushed or bitten her lips in humiliation, but unfortunately, she had picked the wrong opponent.

Who was Nana? She was a survivor who had lived through the wild internet communities where hundreds of provocations and greetings about people’s parents flew around daily.

Having been forged through keyboard battles and having experienced unimaginably difficult people, this level of classic sarcasm was something she could brush off as easily as a morning greeting.

So she should return the greeting in kind, shouldn’t she?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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